Hungarian automotive industry: week 3 2018 edition
Ikarus begins delivery of massive order of articulated buses, Slovakia hints on worrying prospects for the Hungarian industry as the wage race grows fiercer. Let´s recap what the third week this year brought in Hungary´s automotive sector.
Bus manufacturing
The average age of the Hungarian bus fleet is 14 years, but we often see vehicles that have been on the roads for more than 20 years. The government has previously unveiled plans to reduce the average age of Hungarian buses to ten years. Last week, Ikarus delivered two vehicles to Budapest transport company BKV.
Articulated buses are constantly rolling off the production line at Ikarus in order to fulfil a delivery of 180 vehicles to Volánbusz Zrt. by the end of summer 2018, an order totalling HUF 15 billion.
Investment
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had an automotive-themed week: he paid a visit to Audi Győr, and held talks with the directors of Apollo on the potential expansion of the Indian company’s new Hungarian unit.
In just four months, three companies have announced investments in Miskolc for a total of HUF 19.5 billion, creating 800 jobs as a result.
Industry 4.0 Technology Centre, the result of the cooperation between the Industry 4.0 Modern Factories project and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, was unveiled last week. Small businesses will have the opportunity to learn from Tier 1 suppliers free of cost.
Knorr-Bremse and Kecskemét University are conducting joint research for new rubber and polymer materials to develop materials that are more suited to application in air brake systems in commercial vehicles.
Interview
Last week we made an interview with József Nyírő, the president of MAJOSZ. According to Nyírő, Hungarian businesses are suffering from a lack of capital in spite of their need to invest and develop. This situation brings them to a stalemate.
When choosing a supplier, OEMs always look for the perfect combination of quality and price. This is something unachievable without an efficient quality management system and production control. Anatoly Kozlov, the CEO of Trigo Quality Support, calls our attention to the fact that automotive plants require precise work even at the bottom of the supplier chain.
József Török, the CEO of Török Gépipari Kft., a company engaged in metal anodising, says it is becoming increasingly difficult for Hungarian metalworking companies to compete with Slovakian, Ukrainian and Romanian prices. In our interview, he said that state support in employment, tax reductions and increasing wages to Western European levels could help improve the situation.
We surveyed Hungarian professionals about their worries and expectations in the Hungarian automotive industry in 2018. According to their answers, what industry experts are concerned about the most are labour shortage and the future generation’s lack of interest in automotive professions.
Labour force
What could stop the Hungarian workforce from leaving we don’t know yet, but the border will certainly not be it. The president of the Slovak Automotive Industry Association said last week their aim is to ease the labour shortage in the country by inviting foreign workers to Slovakia.
